Holy Crap!

Turned on the radio in my car yesterday for the first time in a while, and I was drawn into listening to a remake of the Dio classic, "Holy Diver".

It kept my attention, but on further reflection I'm kinda shocked that such a half-ass cover song is getting airplay.

They haven't really done anything to re-invent or update the song, but instead they did the following:

1. Change out vocalist to a very generic-sounding dude
2. Update guitar sound from late 70's period guitar to late 90's / early 00's "big guitar" sound
3. Add in seemingly random death-metal growls (cookie monster style)

It's almost like they're trying too hard - it's almost like a parody of half-ass music remakes, but from what I can tell about the song it seems to be intended as a wholly sincere effort.

A google search reveals that there are some rabid defenders of this version, and I can't figure out why.

thoughts for now

Had time to reflect during the drive this morning.

Close to a year being out of the China life, and still adjusting; not so much in terms of how to live in the country, but now finding what I want to do with my life & taking advantage of the opportunities here.

It's easy to get caught up in the wake up / work / TV / sleep cycle and the net result of that is that I'm getting nowhere on what I feel like I should really be doing with my life.

Need to keep a positive attitude about things - at least in identifying this I can take steps to adjust.

Some unbridled joy would be nice too...by its nature, it can't really be an everyday thing...but it seems to have been a long while since I felt that.

Things here seem to be keeping up at a very solid medium...not that much bad happening, and not that much crazy good happening either. Given the situation in the world, I shouldn't complain. On the other hand, I might as well be striving for the ideal, as this life seems to be the only one I have, and it's likely not going to get crazy better unless I do something about it myself.

every day

Every morning I keep checking the RSS feeds, for something - for some sign, some purpose.

(Not having much luck)

Feel restless in a way - why am I here & what am I doing with my life?

At times I think that it would be easier if I was back in China, but that's a cop-out...I was going through the same thing there.

Restlessness for its own sake is tiring and pointless - especially if you just let it eat at you.

However, I keep thinking that my subconscious is trying to tell me something, and that yes, some purpose is just around the corner if I just take a moment and notice it.

(but yeah, not much luck on that yet)

summer here?

Unusually warm weather here in the Seattle area this weekend, and everyone seems happier for it.

Very pleasant days all around. It's nice to leave the windows open and not worry about rain.

I think that my blood must have thickened from my days in Shenzhen - comparatively, this weather is not at all hot compared to day to day life during much of the summer there.

("Summer" in this case being the intensely sunny & humid period from approximately late March to mid-October).

Not bad here, but I recall when we arrived here in August last year, the weather was "hot" by local standards yet we seemed to want sweaters. That's no more the case for us.

yay for scrivener!

Have been playing quite a bit with this piece of software, and I'm impressed so far. Lightweight, easy to use, but also very convenient & powerful.

As such, I'm making more structured progress on the book project than I have been in a while...which is making me feel good, like I'm accomplishing something.

Still running the demo version though, and I'm still a little torn on actually paying the (reasonable) $39.95 for it.

1. I don't want to get locked into any specific OS platform - I love my mac laptop, but actually have some doubts if my next laptop should be a mac or maybe something else...part of me really wants to go all the way Ubuntu - but I keep clinging to other platforms due to things that have locked me in: phone/calendar/contact sync, iTunes, games I've purchased...

2. As much as OS X is good to use, there's actually very little of the OS X exclusive stuff that I use daily and couldn't live without.

3. That being said, I'm getting used to things working smoothly and without much user intervention on this computer (laptop), and a switch to anything else would probably leave me tinkering more often than actually doing. And while tinkering can be fun, the whole point of computers is to allow the user to do useful things, not just play with them for the sake of playing....

(so, if I'm actually getting more done with this software, yeah, I guess it makes sense to get it...)

thoughts on repetitive drum beats

This post is not intended to be a bash on techno, though the title of this post might give that impressions.

Rather:

1. In my high school years, Everclear was a band I heard a lot of, and after buying their albums and listening through, were indeed a very well liked band in my listening rotation. Some time later, when rocking out in a car with a friend and his new ipod, he pointed out to me (and then by playing each song), that the drummer from Everclear pretty much had one beat/loop that was used (to good effect) in many of their songs. After that was pointed out to me, I couldn't quite listen to them as earnestly as I did when I was in my late teenage years.
(still do like the band, however).

2. On the advice of one of my wife's colleagues, we were told to check out some reggaeton music; and as such we proceeded to check the work by Don Omar and in the process came across some other compliations. Was annoyed as hell by the fact that half of the tracks we downloaded had the exact same drum beat as "Gasolina" (apparently by "Daddy Yankee") which sure was played regularly in the clubs (per my hazy memory) in much of 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Per very brief initial research on wikipedia, however, it turns out that the extensive use of that one beat is very much a defining part of this genre:

Reggaeton’s most notably unique feature is a driving drum-machine track
which was derived from a popular Jamaican dancehall rhythm. As stated
previously this beat is called “Dem Bow,” from the Bobby Dixon-produced
Shabba Ranks song of the same title. The beat that can be heard throughout Reggaetonis an interplay of a steady kick drum and a syncopated snare. The kick
drum emphasizes a 4/4 beat, while the snare comes on the "and" of the
2nd 16th note and right on the 4th 16th.

I guess I need to pay more attention to the lyrics or listen more broadly in the genre before I dismiss it (as after all, I barely have been exposed to it) - but I think I'll be looking for artists' work where the beats used are more varied...

Not to say that that one beat is bad - it's actuallly very interesting rhythmically and good to dance to - but if I'm putting 50 new songs on my ipod, I tend to keep things varied.

- on the topic of beats -

There are some standard drum machine options that have been used extensively and frequently in many rap songs. Yet, to me, the repetition tends to be tempered by different bass-lines, choruses, breaks, and effects used with those beats.

Certainly within rock music there are many "stock" beats that most drummers have in their repitoire and use in various combinations.

Not sure what is making me write at this length about the few mainstream-ish Reggaeton songs that I've heard...it's just that one beat is so distinctive and is making many of those songs sound all the same to me.

Enough now, I guess I better putter back onto the porch and rest my tired, arthritic arms after effectively betaying my age and inability to "get it", so therefore telling the damn kids to get off my lawn...

Pathologic?

Heard a lot about this game so decided to take a closer look.

We'll see how long I can really stand it - sounded like a very interesting concept, but concept alone does not make a game fun.

Will post more if I have a change of heart.

_____


Installed and so far so good. Haven't started to pay attention; but pleased that a game from 2 years ago runs so well on my PC. Graphics do not suck, but aren't mind-blowing.

(esp. when compared to something more recent, a la Call of Duty 4 or Team Fortress 2...)

just waiting for an excuse...

have played with Ubuntu 8.04 and have been pretty impressed so far.

That being said, I'm still happy between my XP desktop and OS X laptop (and Vista work laptop, but there's no choice in that so it's kind of moot...).

Wishing for either (both?) MS or Apple to do something stupid that will make me say, "fuck this proprietary OS shit!"

As it is though...doing fine in both regards on both platforms, and as such, despite all the goodness/progress made by Ubuntu (and other Linux desktop distros), I don't feel any real reason to switch over yet.

That being said, I'm still pretty sure that I'd never pay full retail for MS Vista. (although, if I could get it for free or next to free, yeah, I'd have to consider it....)

I'm flippant and indecisive.

awkwardly chilling

it's friday and things are mostly well. at home, having a few drinks, watching battlestar galactica with the wife (who, as it turns out, really got into that show).

can't complain too much.

Feel like there should be something more to this, to everything.

But despite my unease/discomfort, nothing is springing to mind.

So I'll have some water & enjoy.

I like this quote

"Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life." - Terry Pratchett

working with cat

While working late at home sometimes is not always desirable (especially if you'd rather be doing something else), one thing that usually makes it better is when one of your cats is willing to share your lap with the laptop.

Venezuela - baywatch for the children!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7338131.stm

So, apparently Venezeula feels that "the Simpsons" is inappropriate as a morning cartoon for children.

(I can understand this).

So they have pulled the show from the airwaves and replaced it with "Baywatch".

That seems really funny to me. But on some reflection - are we to think that children couldn't handle the simplistic storylines or bouncing boobs (and David Hasselhoff)???

From a certain point of view, Baywatch might be better for children than the simpsons. At least the women are empowered to go kick ass and save lives, just as much as the men on the show are.

I have heard that Venezuela is home to many beaches; and I'd imagine that any child going to the beach is probably going to see an eyeful of skin anyway...and for that matter, I doubt that Venezuelans are as uptight about seeing skin on TV as some folk are in the US.

(but on the other hand, the simpsons does make a lot of literary and cultural references that may inspire kids to look them up and read further in order to get the jokes..actually, on further thought, some of those references are probably lost in translation; from my experience having watched Simpsons episodes in Spanish while in Mexico & occasionally on DVD)

For further thought, I guess that baywatch was something frequently on TV when I was growing up & visiting friends...and I've turned out fine...right?

And if you didn't know Baywatch, then this wouldn't be nearly as funny:

ubuntu 8.04

As of right now, 16 days to go until the next version of Ubuntu linux is released.

I downloaded the beta this weekend and tried it out as a live cd for a little bit - seems very solid so far. Was responsive and good looking on my system.

Did not do a full-on install of it yet on my home PC, mainly since it is still running XP quite acceptably. Would be neat to dedicate an entire physical machine to it; but haven't really had a need to yet; my late 2005-vintage iBook is still running fine (although the battery is only good for ~30-40 minutes if wi-fi is on...

Regardless, pretty impressed with it.

If I only needed a PC for web, email, documents, pictures, & listening to mp3s, and watching movies/files that I had donwnloaded, or I needed to outfit a lot of people with PCs and I was on a budget, then I'd be pretty confident in choosing Ubuntu.

Not sure if it's ready for prime-time yet if you do a lot of PC gaming and like having the newest games to play, or if you're using your computer to make/record music, or if you are dependent on some proprietary application that only works on Windows.

The thought of "letting go" of being tied to proprietary software is pretty attractive, though a bit misleading. It's not as if by adopting an open-source only approach to things that somehow one's tech life will be free of complication or hassle. One still needs to do backups.

Regardless, I think more people being aware of the option and using it is a very good thing.

eee pc

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/30/windows-xp-powered-eee-pc-laptop-400-april-9th/

Seems pretty cool - have gotten a chance to play with one at work (one of my colleagues won it).

Not sure what I'd really do with it or why I'd need one at the moment - not to mention that it's also pretty well known that a bigger-screen version is on the way soon.

(On another note, I do find it amusing that Windows XP has had its lifespan extended (again) for the eee PC since Vista is a bit too bloated to work well on a low-spec system like the eee)

Rancid makes me feel better

Had been feeling down (was in a bit of a rut) well after last thursday's post...the weekend was mostly better, but Monday was unsatisfying.

Yet, rocking out to songs by Rancid helped me feel much better.

One of my all-time favorite bands - I have a lot of love for them and have been enjoying their music nearly half of my life.

This is just a convenient video from a google/Youtube search with pretty clean audio.

what's up with boring city development?

Lease is coming to an end, and so we're thinking about what to do next.

Living now in a part of the greater Seattle area that is very pedestrian-friendly, in that there are not only lots of crosswalks, but there are also businesses & things to do within walking distance. I can't honestly call it vibrant, but one will see people nearly anytime...maybe it's better described as an "active" area?

We like that. Unfortunately, home prices where we live now are on the high side. Annoyed that most of the places we can afford (further out) are in neighborhoods where there's nothing around...just a lot of houses - that seems really boring to us.

Alternatively, I guess we could try living in Seattle proper, but the areas we can afford aren't super compelling either, and are also going to require a longer drive for both of us.

Maybe just keep renting for the time being?

unease?

Not sure exactly what has been bothering me - but feeling a little aimless/restless right now.

Work is fine. Life at home is okay.

Just not really sure what I want to do 'next', if that makes any sense. Not a lot of clear goals right now - I guess I need to figure those out.

Perhaps finding something more fulfillling for my hours outside of work would be a good idea.

(Had some moments where I was playing games this weekend and I realized/hoped that there is more to life than just consuming digital entertainment...)

question to ponder

Which is the more evil organization to work for - Clearchannel or an Oil company?

Had this debate with a friend a while ago who had options to work for either in an international context.

While I guess it's possible that US oil interests have instigated more human misery to the world than Clearchannel, and have done more in the past to block sustainable fuels (which has caused the earth greater damage than clearchannel's moves to kill music artistry), I just don't like Clearchannel at all.

Although they have near monopoly status in many markets, what they control is a dying industry. Can't find a lot of redeeming value in what they've done.

For all of their evil, at least some oil companies try and push for semi-sustainable and responsible drilling and collection where they work.

Also, I'm probably also biased in that of the people I've met who work in the oil industry, most of them have been pretty alright people. I haven't met anyone who works for Clearchannel, and as such I can't associate the concept of their company with anything more than their logo on a billboard.

down day?

Just felt kind of down today. Not exactly sure why.

But perhaps I didn't get enough sleep? Really...trying to figure this out.

But, seeing this bit of news made me happy.

Though, I get the feeling that I need to finish reading Quicksilver and the rest of the series. Just 2600-some pages to go. But apparently the series picks up in the next 2000 pages. We'll see.

Decided to attempt a little experiment - I have a bunch of books at home that I've bought over the years and never read; have games that I've bought but haven't finished - I guess we'll give that a shot & see how long I last.

what is the point of .mac again?

Just thinking - really, what is the big deal about .mac (apple's service that costs between $75-100 per year for web hosting and ~10 gb of storage)?

While I am impressed with what it is supposed to do and how-easy it is supposed to make things, and giving that I tried it for one year, I feel that it is more like a glorified version of aol.com; in that it's taking something that is pretty freely available and then charging people a premium for a crippled version.

Although I was happy with what I did with iWeb & .mac, I think that blogspot is a more sustainable and perhaps better long-term play.